Question

 

Am I an amazingly competent person because, having at last received my authorization from the DMV, I took Lizzy on her first driving lesson, calmly talking her through forward, reverse, blind-side checks, and staying in your own lane? 

Or am a complete idiot for finding out today that there are five types of magnesium supplement, only one of which is used for muscle relaxation, which is what I wanted, but for the past year and a half I’ve been taking the one that’s a laxative, all the while thinking my green smoothies are really doing a number on me?

Check

Jason pulled off something I think he’s never done before, which is totally surprise me.

The kids and Jason all secretly organized themselves to dress up, in coordinating outfits, come over to the house when I wasn’t there (a trick in itself—I had a meeting with some ladies at church), and take photos.

and apparently had a good time doing so

I have been squished and I’m pretty much out on the other side. 

My five children ❤️

Jed and Ada graduated. It’s done! No vital details were forgotten. The speaker loved the thank-you gift I put together for her. I managed to get out a heartfelt speech to Ada on stage, and though I wondered the whole time if the mic was too loud or too soft or making those horrible dog-whistle noises in the audience, I was told that my brevity, at least, was appreciated. 

{Pro tip: for maximum feasibility, don’t be sick as a dog for your child’s high school graduation.}

We pulled off a lovely ceremony, a well-attended reception, the hard work of clean-up, and then a big crowd of friends and family back at our house. Hopefully the guests left feeling well-fed and thanked for their support.

And now I feel enormous relief that it’s over. 

The resulting Mother’s Day gift—the best thing I could’ve gotten. It has a place of high honor on my puzzle table.

a wonderful Mother’s Day

So Ada is done, and Lizzy is no longer buried in schoolwork; the only thing she has left to finish her year is behind-the-wheel driver training. I mailed the paperwork to the DMV at least a week and a half ago, so we check the mailbox every day for the letter authorizing me to be her driving instructor, only after which can we begin. So we won’t be done in May, as hoped. The training takes at least seven days. And in the meantime, she has absolutely no school at all. Caleb is the only scholar I’m working with these days (not counting Buck). So my days are pretty easy breezy…now that I’ve officially finished all my school prep for next year. 

Ada has now progressed in her latte art from swirls and dots to pregnant penguins.

graduation practice

The inability to spend my time driving with Lizzy, plus some help from Jason to clear my time, highly motivated me to work long hard days putting together a high school English course. I finally printed it off on Friday night. Whether it will be way too easy for Liz and Caleb, or way too hard, or they’ll learn absolutely nothing, remains to be seen. But I did my best and hopefully they’ll at least enjoy it more than Ada enjoyed her online English class, which was less than not at all. Plus it taught her to write stilted prose and cost like $600. So I didn’t think we had much to lose by making our own attempt. I do have an English degree, after all. More to the point, I have a pretty clear memory of my ninth-grade English class, which was excellent.

waiting for graduation to begin

Sunday school teacher appreciation day has come and gone and the summer schedule is full of volunteers. Yesterday I worked up opening activities, so we are well prepped for the summer quarter.

 

The slew of every kind of appointment I can think of, and the soccer season, are all over. 

brief heartfelt speech before the handing over of the diploma

Double graduation: ✅

Next year school prep: ✅

Lizzy’s ‘real’ school: ✅

Feeling of having my brains squeezed out: ✅

Ready to kick back for summer: ✅

Quick

 

Shhhh…don’t tell anyone I’m blogging. 

I just finished lamenting to Jason that I don’t have enough time to do everything, and then I finished school with Caleb unexpectedly early, so I’m hiding in the school room to crank out a quick post. Probably one lamenting that I don’t have time to do everything.

view from the lake at our quick overnight children’s ministry team retreat

Jeddy officially graduates from college in seven days (even though he’s not walking), and Ada graduates from high school in eight days. But I don’t have time to feel emotions about it, oh no—because there are too many logistics to work out: gifts for graduates and for the graduation speaker that I’m in charge of, writing a blessing to be spoken to Ada when we hand over the diploma (side note: feel emotions regarding making brief but emotional speech in front of several hundred people), and trying to remember all the details I’m supposed to have in place for the parent-organized ceremony. And after that we’re hosting family and friends of both grads at our house for a cookout.

So I’ll feel emotions later. It’s not at the top of my to-do list right now.

Also of concern are other people’s emotions; like Jeddy, who is making a giant life transition into an uncertain job market; Lizzy, who is buried in end-of-year schoolwork; Jason, who is navigating his own uncertain transition.

The Sunday school year is coming to an end, which means thank-yous for teachers and recruiting and preparing for the summer quarter. 

Lizzy finished her classroom driver’s ed and for some reason the online class is snail mailing her completion certificate instead of emailing it. So we have to wait for that to arrive before I can then mail it and my paperwork to the DMV, after which they will mail me a response, only after which can we begin behind-the-wheel driver’s ed. Which I’m intending to get done by end of May.

Also on my agenda to finish by end of May, which Jason tells me is an arbitrary and unhelpful deadline, but I really, really want a summer vacation, is school planning for next year. I’ve finished most of the easier planning but haven’t begun to tackle the harder problem of creating a high school English course from scratch. And frustratingly, I can’t get a solid chunk of time for that kind of work that requires sustained focus. Liz and Caleb need proctoring for all their various final exams (who signed them up for all these classes?) and they tend to spring that need on me at the last minute. 

My email in-box is overflowing with who knows what vital response-needed messages I can’t get to.

But I’m also trying to keep up with feeding people and laundry and personal exercise and Caleb’s soccer, and the appointments! Why so many appointments! How did it come about that car inspection, eye doctor, pediatrician checkups, dentist, and orthodontist literally all fall in May?

On a positive note, I set a new speed record in my run this morning. I may not be able to get my thinking brain in gear around all the adrenaline but it does make me run fast.

To be sure, these are all good things. My kids are graduating. They have lots of friends who will share in their celebration. Homeschooling is a ginormous privilege and I get to teach them whatever I want. Lizzy is learning to drive. I have the privilege of being in ministry at church. Our family is celebrating, growing, and being together day to day.

I think I would have an emotion about it, but I don’t have time just now.